


I Measure Out My Life In Coffee Grounds

by earthtoalley



Category: Original Work
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shop, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-02-05
Updated: 2013-02-08
Packaged: 2017-11-28 08:21:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,613
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/672267
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/earthtoalley/pseuds/earthtoalley
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hadley Smith spends his days serving hipsters soy latte after soy latte. That is until He came along.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Him.

**Author's Note:**

> This might seem odd being classed as an AU since it's an original work, but this isn't the form these characters were originally in. I got bored of writing the continuation of the original work, and started this on the side to have Hadley and Max interacting again.

“Medium soy latte?”

The voice snapped me out of my reverie and I looked up from what I was doing, seeing a group of four hipsters hovering around the collection desk awkwardly. I looked at my colleague and best friend since high school, Caleb as he tried to figure out just who the coffee in his hands belonged to. I was always in the habit of taking people’s names with their orders, regardless of how busy it was, and I was always berating him for not doing the same.

“I love your hair colour. Is it natural?” one of them asked, a girl with fake glasses on and a bowler hat, gesturing at Caleb’s bright ginger hair.

“It’s natural, and flattery won’t get you this if it’s not yours,” he said, gesturing at the coffee.

I looked at the three empty cups waiting to be filled, seeing two of them had names on. All three were for soy lattes.

“Which one of you’s Jaime?” I asked, and the girl trying to sweet talk Caleb looked at me. “It’s not yours. And, which one of you’s Alec?” I questioned, and a guy with a moustache raised his heavily tattooed arm. “It’s not yours either.”

Caleb looked at the two left for a while before announcing whose it was, handing it to them and thanking them for the wait. He got on with the rest of the orders, telling me he could man the fort while I went out and collected any empty mugs. Throughout the place, all I saw were hipsters taking photos of their coffees on instagram. It was kind of pathetic, really. I made my way back, a tray full of empty mugs in my hand, and put them in the dishwasher quickly. We weren't really supposed to use it til the end of the day, but everyone did when it wasn't busy. I heard the door open, and left Caleb to finish up with the empty mugs. I put on the trademark ‘happy to help’ smile, and looked up. Oh God, it was him. He’d been coming in here since I’d started working here, and he was gorgeous. Gorgeous and way too old for me. But I could still look, right?

“What can I get you?” I asked him, smiling for real. I knew his order off by heart by now, but I had to ask so I didn't seem like a creep. He asked for the same thing he always did, a medium caramel latte. “Sure I can’t interest you in a caramel macchiato? It tastes nicer, in my opinion” And has to be dressed up so I get to watch you for longer.

“Really?” he asked, seeming a little surprised.

“Mhm” I said with a nod.

He shrugged, the muscles in his arms tensing a little with the movement. “Why not?” he said, smiling faintly.

“Stay in or take out?” He always stayed in to drink his coffee, that’s why I never got to ask his name.

“Stay in, thanks.”

I nodded, telling him how much it was. He handed me a five dollar bill, politely informing me I could keep the change.

“You sure?” I asked, a little surprised. One thing me and Caleb had learnt working here was that people rarely tip. Especially hipsters, and given that most of our clientèle wore fake glasses, had moustaches and matching tattoos of swallows on their collarbones, we were lucky if we made five bucks between us.

“Yeah,” he said with a smile.

“Thanks,” I said, smiling back, “I’ll bring your drink over when it’s ready”

He thanked me, and I watched as he made his way over to a table before making a start on his drink. I took my time with it, which caught Caleb’s attention.

“So he’s the guy,” Caleb said, standing next to me and eyeing him up subtly. “He’s not bad looking. Why don’t you ask him out?”

“I can’t just ask him out, Caleb, I know nothing about him. I mean, look at him, he’s older than me, he’s probably got some model girlfriend or something.”

“Really? A model? Look at him, Hadley, he looks like he hasn't been in the sun for a month, do you really think a model would go for that?”

“Whatever. He’s still probably straight.”

“So then he’ll turn you down, but at least you’ll know. Quit being a pussy.”

“ I'm not being a pussy.”

“So write your number down on his napkin. If he calls you, you’re in luck. And if not, the worst that happens is we might lose a customer.”

I groaned. Caleb’s one of those really persistent people that doesn't shut up until they get their way. I picked up a napkin, writing my number on it while he drizzled caramel sauce over the top of the drink. He seemed pleased by it, but I put the napkin down so my number was hidden, walking off with it before he could complain or rectify it. I made my over to him, this gorgeous blonde man, and put his drink down on the table in front of him. I could feel Caleb’s eyes on me, and did my best to ignore it. He thanked me, not really looking up from the book he was reading.

“What’re you reading?” I asked nervously. “If you don’t mind me asking, I mean.”

“Interview with the Vampire,” he told me with a smile.

“Never read it,” I chuckled. The only reason I’d heard of it was because my older brother Cayden had made me watch the film with him when it came out on VHS. I was around nine, and it scared the crap out of me.

“I read it as a kid and found it when I was moving into my new place a couple weeks ago. Thought it’d give me something to do in my lunch breaks.”

“Where do you work?”

“Just this little clothes store down the road.”

“Is that why you come in here so often?” I asked with a smile.

He nodded. “Somewhere nearby that I can chill out for an hour.”

I smiled again. “I’ll leave you to it.”

“Oh okay,” he said smiling faintly. “This coffee is nicer, you were right.”

I nodded, going back over to Caleb, who proceeded to quiz me on what we’d talk about, all but telling me off for not asking him out. At the time, I was more interested in figuring out a way to switch his napkin for one that didn't have my number on it. Thankfully he seemed fixed on his book, and I heaved a sigh of relief as he wiped his mouth with his hand when he was done, getting up and leaving without so much as touching his napkin.

Unfortunately for me, though, it meant I wouldn't hear the end of it from Caleb. You see, the two of us lived together. We both worked more or less the same shifts at the coffee shop, and we’d saved up whatever cash we could get our hands on since my second year of high school. I moved out not long after I graduated, and Caleb came with me, despite still having a year left of school himself. I was glad he came with me; I don’t think I’d have liked living on my own. See, I come from a kind of big family. There’s me, there’s my older brother Cayden, his on-off boyfriend John, my older sister Ava, her highly devoted boyfriend Ryan, Mom and Dad. Going from all that to just me? I think it would've been too drastic a change.

We were good for each other, me and Caleb. Besides being, as he worded it, “best bros for life”, we kept each other, uh, sexually satisfied, so to speak. We’d tried dating briefly in high school, but it hadn't worked out, but the both of us understood the other had urges. We hadn't gotten as far as full blown sex, but blowjobs and stuff weren't out of the question. Now that I think about it, we had a super weird friendship.

Thankfully the two of us weren't working til closing that day, and we said our goodbyes to the two members of staff replacing us as we made our way out. It was surprisingly warm for March that afternoon, and I regretted wearing my coat to work that morning, especially given Caleb’s insistence that we walk to and from work every now and then to try and save money. The rest of the night was spent the way we usually spent our evenings; watching shit TV, eating take out, getting baked and performing various sexual acts. That night it was in the form of me blowing Caleb.


	2. It Doesn't Matter If You Freeze Your Ass Off As Long As You Look Good Doing It

I wasn’t in work for a couple days after that. Caleb had taken some overtime, so I had the apartment to myself mostly. I didn’t like the quiet without him there. Half the time when he was home, all I wanted was a few minutes of silence, but without it, the place felt kind of empty. It made me… nervous.

I had the afternoon shift the next day, and who should walk in but the guy from before.

“What can I get you?” I asked my handsome stranger, hoping like hell he didn’t recognise me.

Apparently since I’d been in last, he’d made his new usual a caramel macchiato. Caleb insisted once he was gone that it was a sign, but I didn’t take his word for it. All it was a sign of was that he liked that better than a caramel latte. I asked him all the usual questions, telling him the price once I was done.

“Don’t I come in here often enough for you to know all this by now?” he asked, laughing slightly as he handed over five bucks again.

“Still have to ask,” I said, handing him his change and watching as he put in our meagre tip jar.

“I’m not gonna sue you if you get it wrong. It’s just coffee,” he smiled, wandering over to a table while I got his drink ready.

I ignored Caleb insisting I do the napkin trick again, promising the ginger instead that I’d strike up another conversation with the guy and come back with his name, at least. He thanked me as I brought his drink over, seeing Caleb gesturing at me to talk to the guy.

“Still reading that, huh?” I asked awkwardly, seeing his book.

“Yeah, it’s a long book, I guess.”

“What’s it about?”

“Some kid interviewing a vampire about his life,” he explained. “It’s good, if you like that kinda stuff.”

“I don’t really read much. I’ll check it out at some point, though.”

He smiled. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. You? Is your coffee okay?”

“It’s good, thanks. You just look a little bit like you’re being forced to talk to me,” he said sympathetically.

“What? Oh, no, I, uh, I wanted to talk to you.”

“Is that because someone else thinks you should?”

“I... I can go, if you want?”

“No, no, you’re welcome to join me, I just get the feeling you’re not entirely ready or willing,” he laughed, and I sat down opposite him. He flashed me a smile. “So who’s behind this, then?” he asked and I nodded at Caleb. “So, how long have you been working here?”

“A few months, now.”

“Do you like it?”

“It pays the rent,” I chuckled. Truth was, I did like it, but being a barista isn’t much to aspire to, is it?

The guy laughed. “I know what you mean. I bet you don’t get as many pretentious wankers in here as you do where I work.”

“You’d be surprised.”

“Surprise me,” he said, and I pointed out four different groups of hipsters, all reading classic literature and updating all their social networks with pictures of their drinks. I smiled as the guy laughed.

“What do you want to do, then? Are you in college or anything?” he asked.

“Uh, no, I’m sort of just drifting along.”

“I’m sure you’ll figure it out.”

“What about you?”

“I’m drifting too,” he sighed. “I’m so bored of working in a shop. I only got the job because of my accent,” he laughed, as did I. “Apparently I sound posh.”

“You do.”

“I sound like a Londoner. I sound about as posh as a redneck,” he said, pretending to be offended. At least, I hoped he was pretending.

He went back to his coffee and I sat there quietly for a while, trying to pick up the nerve to ask for his number, or to ask him on a date. At the very least, to ask him if he had a girlfriend or anything.

“Are you doing anything tonight?” I managed to blurt out after a while.

He shrugged. “Nothing special. Why? What did you have planned?”

“Me and Caleb were gonna go catch a movie. Would you be interested in tagging along?” Smooth, Hadley, real smooth.

“Sure,” he paused, “You don’t even know my name,” he laughed. “It’s Max, by the way.”

“Hadley.”

“Nice to meet you, Hadley.”

“Nice to meet you, too,” I smiled.

“We could always go out for a drink or something after, if you want?”

“I don’t think me or him’d get inside, let alone get served,” I chuckled.

“Wait, how old are you?” he questioned.

“I’m nineteen, and he’s nearly eighteen.”

“Oh shit,” he laughed.

“What?”

“I’m twenty five. Small age gap there.”

“I wasn’t asking you out on a date or anything,” I said, looking at him, “So it shouldn’t matter, right?”

Max thought about it for a moment. “Yeah, yeah, you’re right. Sorry, I sound like a dick now.”

“It’s fine.”

“Just the movie, then? If you want to hang out with a total tit?” he laughed, and I flashed him a smile.

“Um, so, we shut up around seven, so when’s best for you?” I asked as he smiled back.

“Eight?”

“Sure.”

He smiled again, checking his watch. Next thing I knew, he was rushing down the last of his coffee. “I gotta go, sorry.”

“We’ll see you later,” I smiled.

“I’ll meet you there, yeah?” he questioned and I nodded, trying not to laugh as he tried not to trip over himself as he rushed out.

The second I was back behind the counter, Caleb pestered me for details. He was less than impressed to hear that my asking Max out on a date had completely flopped, and turned into what he described as a ‘family outing.’ By the time we got back home, though, he seemed the slightest bit more enthusiastic about it after I promised him he could pick what movie we saw. Thankfully we’d been allowed to take the subway that day, so it didn’t take like an hour and a half to walk home.

I studied myself in the mirror while I waited for Caleb to get out of the bathroom so I could have a shower. I didn’t want to put too much effort in since, as I’d made painfully clear during our awkward conversation, this wasn’t a date. That didn’t mean I didn’t want to try and impress him, though. Eventually the ginger gave me run of the bathroom, telling me, with a wink, not to take too long and that he’d pick out something sexy for me to wear. And while Caleb has excellent taste in clothes, I didn’t exactly trust him to pick out something weather appropriate. After all, he always said “It doesn’t matter if you freeze your ass off as long as you look good doing it.”


End file.
